It’s the middle of June and it’s that time of the year when all bands and musicians gear up for JRO (originally June Rock Out). What’s more, this time it’s the grand celebration of 10 years of Indian Rock! And on the list of Bands are Blood and Iron – Chennai, Blind Image – Chennai, Lounge Piranha – Bangalore, Native Tongue – Hyderabad, Rampazze – Delhi, Seven Days – Chennai, Substance – Chennai, Ahimxa – Assam, Gandhi’s Cookbook – Dubai, Grey Shack – Chennai, Lionnel Mascarenhas – Mumbai, Pipers – Bangalore, Slain – Bangalore, and Silver – Pune.

So don’t miss it, on the 28th of June & 5th of July, 2008, 4 p.m. onwards at KRMM College, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, Chennai – 20. Tickets are priced at Rs.250 for 2 days or Rs.150 per day.

The history of JRO… JRO was started in 1999, as June Rock Out, a rock music festival. In 2003, JRO became a music festival, not just rock, and bands of other music genres like Rap, Gospel and Pop were brought in. JRO has had the Indi-pop band 'Silk Route' for the curtain raiser of JRO 2004 and the lyrically positive 'Red Rain' from New Zealand for the first part of the series.

JRO then moved from June to July. This was because many colleges close down for the summer in June and so college goers, who form a major part of the JRO fan following, could not participate at the festival.

The future vision of JRO is to have the festival moved to other cities in India, and to have participation from neighboring countries as well. In short, here’s what JRO is all about:

1. JRO’s aim is to create the right environment for musicians to best display their skills and talents and in turn, further enhance the music of their heart to give it away by documenting and distributing it.

2. A place where the best talents in the country are brought forward on a national stage for rock music.

3. To give added values to the national and local sponsors and suppliers and ensure they have a good commercial return on their investment.

4. To make the most of a unique opportunity for generating sufficient funding so as to ensure the long-term growth and development of Indian musicians and their talents.

5. To unite all people of our country through our values, primarily fighting against drug abuse and the AIDS epidemic in its grass root level.